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Authors, sign in!Former Republican U.S. Senator from Wyoming, Alan Simpson, is a co-chair of President Obama's recently formed bipartisan commission tasked with producing ideas to reduce the government's long term deficit. The other day he responded to a critic by asserting that the American people overuse Social Security claiming that the program is a milk cow with 310 million tits.
While I disagree with Simpson's "analysis" I believe it would be counterproductive to force him to resign. Surprisingly, some Republican leaders (while not having the courage to actually vote for a congressional commission with the same focus even after having signed on as co-sponsors) have declined to prejudge the outcome of the process.
There is still a long road to be traveled in actually getting deficit cutting legislation before the Congress but those liberals (such as Keith Olbermann, whom I admire) who want him to resign are wrong to suggest that future Social Security obligations don't impact the long-term deficit. Social Security "reform" should be one of the topics that the Commission make a part of its recommendation.
I have my own personal views about what should be done but there are only several options or combinations of these options which will keep this program solvent in the coming decades.
If the commission is able to fashion some compromise or recommend specific changes that reverse the trend of deficit spending then that is a greater good than enforcing political correctness. Sadly, at this point (and Democrats must shoulder some blame for their failure to distinguish their economic polices from the past administration) for serious reform to take place, Republican support will be required (ultimately, I think they'll reject any recommendations that deviate from their tax cut mantra) and that support will be harder to run away from if they can't point out that the President's commission was caught up in political correctness that tilted the balance of Republican representation (even if Obama was to appoint another respected Republican).
Published August 25, 2010 by James Bordonaro |
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| Tags:
Federal Budget
Politics
Republican Party
Social Security
